This Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding Cake is made with a layer of moist chocolate cake and a layer of fudge which sinks to the bottom as the cake rises, creating a delicious molten lava pudding. The cake is very simple to make and takes only 45 minutes including the baking time! Similar to a molten lava cake, it is always a crowd pleaser, especially during the colder months.
The chocolate cake recipe is inspired by my delectable, and very popular, Easy Chocolate Cake. That cake is incredible on its own, but the hot fudge pudding just takes it to the next level.
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INGREDIENTS REQUIRED
This Hot Fudgy Chocolate Pudding Cake is made using simple ingredients you should already have in your pantry (all quantities are given in the recipe card at the bottom of this post):
Chocolate Cake:
- All purpose flour
- Granulated sugar - can be substituted with caster sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Large eggs
- Vegetable oil - or use any other neutral tasting oil
- Buttermilk - if you don't have buttermilk, you can easily make it yourself with milk and vinegar or lemon juice
- Boiling water - this helps bloom the cocoa powder
- Cocoa powder - I recommend Dutch processed, but you can also use natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- Instant coffee
Hot Fudge Pudding:
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Cocoa powder - Dutch processed or natural
- Boiling water
HOW TO MAKE HOT FUDGE CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE
Let's go over the simple method to make this cake - it should not take you longer than 15 minutes of work! First, check out this video in which you can see the method in action:
1. Prepare the cake batter
Before getting started, pre-heat your oven to 350F (conventional) and brush a 7x11" baking dish (I used ceramic) with a little butter.
In a clean bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except the cocoa powder, making sure to sift the flour. Use a whisk to mix them together.
To the dry ingredients, add the eggs, oil and buttermilk, and gently whisk until combined. If you see any lumps forming, use the whisk to break them down, but avoid overmixing the batter.
In a separate bowl, pour boiling water over the cocoa powder and instant coffee, and whisk until you see a shiny, smooth chocolatey mixture. This step will 'bloom' the cocoa powder, bringing out its lovely chocolate aroma and flavor.
Pour the bloomed cocoa mix into the rest of the batter, and gently fold until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
2. Add the Hot Fudge Pudding ingredients
This part is so simple, and feels like it should be wrong but it isn't! First, mix together the two types of sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl, making sure to break down any lumps.
Then, sprinkle over the mixture on top of the cake batter inside the baking pan, trying your best to spread it out evenly.
Then, carefully pour over the boiling water in the same baking pan. Be careful not to splash the water - you can use the back of a spoon to help pour more slowly and evenly, and try to get the water spread evenly too.
3. Bake the cake
Bake the cake for ~30 minutes. In the oven, a few magical things will happen:
- The hot water will dissolve the sugars and cocoa, and cook down to form a fudgy sauce
- The cake will bake and rise
- The fudgy sauce will sink to the bottom
You want to stop baking the cake when it feels firm to touch on the top, but a toothpick inserted should have fudge on it! With this cake, I find it is better to lean towards underbaking than overbaking, as we want it to be like molten lava.
4. Serve!
That's it! Now it is time to enjoy your hard work. Serve the cake while it is still hot. Just like molten lava cake, this cake is great with some vanilla ice cream on top.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A 7x11" baking dish has 77 square inches of area. Any other pan with a similar area will work, e.g., 9x9". You can also do a larger dish (e.g., 9x13) but the cake will not be as tall and you will need to reduce the baking time.
Yes, you can reduce the sugar if you don't like your dessert to be too sweet. I would suggest reducing the sugar in the cake batter itself to 1 cup (instead of 1 ¼), and you can reduce the sugar in the fudge sauce by 2-4 tablespoons.
You do not need a substitute for buttermilk - simply combine milk with vinegar or lemon juice to make it instantly.
You can store this cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, and warm up in the microwave before eating.
RELATED RECIPES
If you like this recipe, also check out my other indulgent chocolate desserts:
HOT FUDGE CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE RECIPE
- Total Time: 45 min
- Yield: 8-10 servings
Description
A rich and indulgent chocolate cake with a layer of hot fudge pudding sauce underneath made in just 45 minutes!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour (195g)
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar (275g) - can be reduced to 1 cup if you don't want the cake to be too sweet
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil (100g)
- ½ cup buttermilk (120g) - use ½ cup milk + ½ tablespoon vinegar to make your own
- ¼ cup boiling water (60g)
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder (33g)
- 1 tsp instant coffee
Hot Fudge Pudding:
- ½ cup white granulated sugar (110g)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (100g)
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups boiling water (360g)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (conventional) and prepare a 7x11 or 9x9" baking dish with some butter (I recommend ceramic so you can serve the cake in the same dish)
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl, getting rid of any lumps
- Add the eggs, oil and buttermilk, and use a hand whisk to combine the ingredients
- In a separate bowl, pour the boiling water on top of the cocoa powder and instant coffee, and whisk until smooth and shiny
- Add the cocoa powder mixture to the remaining cake batter and gently fold until combined
- Pour the batter in the prepared baking dish
- For the fudge sauce, mix the sugars and cocoa powder and get rid of any lumps. Sprinkle over the cake batter inside the baking dish
- Gently pour over the boiling water on top of the cake batter, being careful and spreading it evenly
- Place the cake in the oven and bake for ~30-35 min depending on the size of your pan. You want the cake to look firm and cooked on the top, but it should be fudgy and gooey on the bottom - it is better to underbake than overbake it
- Serve the cake while still hot with some vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding Cake
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
Preeti says
Can you replace the oil with butter?
Kelly says
Yes you can replace oil with butter. I have made this 4 times already and I rarely ever use oil so I use the unsalted butter or blue bonnet. This is an extremely good, mouth watering, go back for fourths type of cake! It is similar to lava cakes but in bigger form. I top mine with powdered sugar.
★★★★★
Zoha says
Thank you for sharing your experience, Kelly! So helpful! <3
Zoha says
Hi Preeti! I have never tested this specific recipe with butter so I cannot really guarantee how it will turn out. I like using oil in my chocolate cakes as they turn out more moist. but you can also replace the chocolate cake part of this recipe with your go to chocolate cake and then follow the fudge steps x
Alana says
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I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you recommend a good hosting provider
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my homepage :: webinar software (Maritza)
★★★★★
Zoha says
Thanks I am glad to hear that!! I am on Siteground (i don't really know if it's great haha)
Afsheen says
Okay, one word: YUMMM!!!
This was so delicious and satisfying, I can’t tell you! I was a little sceptical about how the sauce would turn out at the bottom and not taste like raw cake batter, but I assure you it was like delicious molten chocolate at the bottom of a moist and fluffy cake. It went perfectly with some vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, my chocoholic friends & I were too impatient to wait for me to take a picture, and we dove into it as soon as it was out of the oven! So, SO good! Thank you for another awesome recipe, Zoha!
★★★★★
Zoha says
AWWWW I love this review so much!! Thank you thank you thank you Afsheen! So thrilled you enjoyed this recipe <3
Asma Amer says
Thats simply amazing to look at that fudgey cake. I am planning a dinner at my place and this has already gone in the menu.
Zoha says
I hope you love it <3
Sumaya Rahman says
Can I make this ahead and just microwave before serving?
Zoha says
Yes, you can!
Fatima says
This recipe is magic! Worked perfectly, giving a soft sponge cake with a yummy sauce at the bottom, as promised! Even though I messed up slightly by adding the water into the fudge sauce mix, it still came out as expected!
★★★★★
Zoha says
Wuhu!! Thrilled to hear that 🙂
Susan Abraham says
Okay this is seriously dangerous . The base cake is itself so yumm with the amazing lava pouring out. It’s definitely the best chocolate lava cake I’ve had. Also the instructions were so easy to follow. Followed it to the T and 🤤
★★★★★
Zoha says
Wow!!! I am so thrilled to hear that. Thank you Susan!
Asma Amer says
My God, Tried this when Mahnoor and family visited. I suppose the easiest cake i ever made and yes, its definitely dangerous.
★★★★★
Zoha says
I'm so glad you liked it <3
Zarnoosh says
This is the first cake my four year old son baked with me and it was super easy to make and turned out delicious!! Both my kids had two slices and then asked me to give them a slice for lunch the next day!
Thanks for such easy and wonderful recipes!
Zoha says
Aww I am so happy to read that! Thank you so much, Zarnoosh. <3
Eunice Luk says
Lovely easy recipe and tasty
Not too sweet with the lower sugar options provided - thanks!
★★★★★